wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 19 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time.

wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 91% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status.
Learn more...

Pashto, or Pukhto, is one of the official languages of Afghanistan. Around 60 million people in Afghanistan, adjacent areas in Pakistan and worldwide speak Pashto as their mother tongue. It belongs to Indo-Iranian family of languages.[1]XResearch source Learn some useful phrases that may help you if you watch any TV show related to Afghanistan or meet any Pashtun.

Te: You - It's a soft 't' sound; as if it's inching towards the 'th' sound, but not quite. Instead of tapping the tip of your tongue against the bottom of your teeth, move it back just a little - but not too far - to create that soft sound
Zma: My
Roar: Brother
Ye: Are - Almost pronounced as the word 'yay'; it's a sharp 'e' sound
This may seem like broken Pashto, but remember; the structure and word arrangements vary in different languages.

You can say "Za pe poe na shum," meaning "I didn't understand." Also, "Poe na shum," meaning "didn't understand." "Pa sta khabara poe na shum" means "I didn't understand what you have said." The most common that Pashtuns use is "Sa?", which means "What?" The more basic Pashto you use, the better you sound to Pashtuns.

The straightforward and exact answer is "Za Lambam" (Za Laam-bum), but we often don't say it like that, especially when talking to non-friends or elderly people. You could say "Kapry badlom," which translates to "changing clothes."

Video.

By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube.

Tips

Pashto/Pakhto is similar to Persian, being a part of the Iranian language family. It even shares the script with the Persian language, which is the other official language of Afghanistan, known as Dari.

References

About This Article

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 19 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time.